ALCS: Red-hot Rockies have a little bit of everything

BOSTON — Beating the tenacious Cleveland Indians in seven games may have been the easy part.

DAVID BROWN

BOSTON — Beating the tenacious Cleveland Indians in seven games may have been the easy part.

The Red Sox now have two well-deserved days off to prepare for the National League champion Colorado Rockies, a team that has long since forgotten how to lose.

Winning 21 of their last 22 games, the Rockies very nearly missed the playoffs, twice coming within one out that would have ended their season.

On the last Saturday of the season, they needed the Brewers' two-out ninth-inning rally against the Padres, which led to an 11-inning win, to keep their playoff hopes alive. And the Rockies trailed the Padres by two runs in the 13th inning of a one-game playoff for the NL Wild Card and won that game with a three-run rally — the last scoring on a controversial call at the plate — against San Diego closer Trevor Hoffman, the all-time leader in saves.

Since then, Colorado has continued to be a juggernaut, winning seven straight games against the Phillies and Diamondbacks without allowing more than five runs in a game.

The Red Sox certainly have an idea of what the Rockies can do. Colorado visited Fenway in June, taking two out of three and outscoring Boston 20-4 in the series. That series came just as the Rockies were heating up. Despite trailing by as many as 8½ games in the wild-card race, Colorado finished the season with on a 71-46 tear (a .606 winning percentage) after May 22.

The biggest concern for the piping-hot Rockies is that an eight-day layoff between the NLCS and World Series may cool them down. Colorado has been playing intrasquad games to keep its pitchers sharp, but the Tigers were in a similar position last season, earning a week off after the ALCS, and never looked the same in a 4-1 loss to the Cardinals in the World Series.

Earlier this week, Red Sox reliever Mike Timlin said you never know what to expect when a team gets that much time off.

"Some teams it's bad, some teams it's not," Timlin said. "Absolutely when we face them, I hope they're flatter than all get out."

Posting a playoff-best 2.08 staff ERA, pitching has been the key to the Rockies' postseason success, even though they play their home games in the thin air of Denver's Coors Field. Colorado has only one starter with an ERA higher than 2.13 in the playoffs (Franklin Morales, 5.14). The Red Sox have just one starter with an ERA below 2.13 (Josh Beckett, 1.17).

Staff ace Jeff Francis, who will get the start at Fenway Park in Game 1, went 17-9 during the regular season with a 4.22 ERA. His numbers were almost the same on the road (4.24 ERA) as they were at home (4.20). In the playoffs, he's 2-0 with a 2.12 ERA in 12 2/3 innings of work. Both of his starts came on the road.

Even though Colorado has out pitched everyone in the playoffs, the Red Sox still had the third-best staff ERA with a 3.78 heading into Game 7 of the ALCS. But in the offensive phase of the game, Boston has outperformed the Rockies by far.

The Red Sox led all playoff teams with a .290 batting average and 59 runs heading into Game 7 on Sunday. Colorado was batting .242 with 42 runs, but has only played seven postseason games.

The Rockies' offense is quite similar to the one the Angels brought to Boston in the ALDS. The top of the order features speedy small-ball-type guys in Willy Tavarez, Kaz Matsui or Troy Tulowitzki who fill the top two spots. Behind them sits a formidable power duo in MVP candidate Matt Holliday and veteran first baseman Todd Helton.

Just as the Red Sox had to keep Chone Figgins and Grady Sizemore off base, they will once again have to key in the top of the order against Colorado. Holliday, who hit .340 with 36 homers and 137 RBIs, could be the toughest out they've faced in the postseason.

He hasn't cooled off much in the playoffs, hitting .286 with four home runs, seven RBIs, a .333 on-base percentage and a .714 slugging percentage in seven postseason games.

Contact David Brown at

dbrown@s-t.com

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